Animals
in South American
Rainforest

Typical
animals in
South American rainforest are jaguars,
pumas, deer, howler monkeys,
tapirs, peccary, iguanas, opossums, mongooses, otters, squirrels, bats, rats,
poison frogs, caymans (deadly crocodiles) and anacondas - the longest
snakes in the world.
These are boa snakes - the non-venomous snakes
that don't need the venom because they are large enough to be able to
kill their prey by strangling it. Anacondas are excellent tree
climbers; give birth to live young and live up to 35 years. Typical
birds in South American rainforest are hummingbirds, harpy
eagles,
the beautiful toucans
and colourful macaws.
Macaws are known for eating
minerals from clay cliffs beside the Amazon River.

Northern South American Rainforest

Guyana
has got about 6000 species of plants, 700 species of birds and numerous
other animal species, including 116 species of poison-arrow frogs (Dendrobatidae
family). These brilliantly colourful frogs don't need to camouflage -
they secrete some of the most poisonous toxins in the world. They have
got their name from the local rainforest
people that spread their venom on their
arrows and darts. Guyana Highlands Cloud Forests, which also stretch to
Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia, are known for their huge trees and
dense canopy. The leaves and bark of simarouba tree (Simarouba amara)
are used as natural medicine.

Suriname
(former Dutch Guinea) has got some 4,100 species of plants, 180 species
of animals, and 603 bird species, including scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber)
and cock of the rock (Rubicola
sp). Animals include the Giant South American River Turtle
(Podocnemis expansa)
and the goliath tarantula (Theraphosa
blondi) - a venomous nocturnal hunter and one of the
largest spiders in the world.

About 90% of French
Guiana
is covered by rainforests, most of it is thick jungle. There are 5625
species of vascular plants, 1000 different types of trees and 700 bird,
177 mammal, 430 fish and 109 frog species. Animals and
birds include, but are not limited to monkeys, peccary, tapirs, agouti,
macaws and
toucans.

Parts of Columbia
are snowy mountains, but the lowlands in south east are
covered by
rainforests, which contain plants like quinine and sarsparilla, birds
like hummingbirds and toucans, and animals like pumas, jaguars,
spectacled bears, caymans, catfish and electric eels - an eel-shaped
fish that can grow 2.5 meters long and send 500-600 volts into a prey
or an agitator. Poisonous dart frogs (Phyllobates
terribilis)
that are found here carry enough poison to kill 200 adult humans and
only a touch on it's tongue could be deadly.

Ecuador contains some dense rainforests with 20,000 plant
species, over 1500 species of birds, and over 800 frogs and
reptiles. Mammals include howler monkeys, spectacled bears, ocelots,
margays, jaguars, two-toed sloths, and woolly mountain tapirs amongst
others. Equator's rainforests are also known for the highest number of
orchid species in the world - there are 4000 of them.

Central South American Rainforest

Brazil
has got the largest parts of Amazonian rainforests, including 56,000
plant, 1700 bird, 578 mammal, 651 reptile and 695 amphibian species.
This is the highest number of plant, primate and amphibian species in
the world, and number five for birds and reptiles. About a quarter of
all the world's plant species are found here, including rubber trees,
rosewood, brazilwood, and ceiba. Birds include macaws, toucans, parrots
and harpy eagles.

Southern South American
Rainforest

Bolivian
rainforests, which escaped the bad deforestation that happened in other
parts of Amazon, contain more than 2000 species of hardwood, and
animals like emperor tamarin and peccaries.

But there are also
some rainforests in south America outside the Amazon basin. These
include the Atlantic rainforests on the eastern coast of Brazil;
rainforests in Paraguay and Uruguay;
and temperate rainforests in Chile and Argentina.

The
fragmented rainforests of Paraguay
contain animals like jaguars, pumas, monkeys, capybara, armadillos,
otters and giant anteaters. The 600 species of birds include the
largest parrot in the world - the 1m long hyacinth macaw (Anodorhyncus hyacinthinus).

Rainforests of Chile
and Argentina are the world's second largest temperate
rainforests.
Chilean rainforests contain animals like river otters, wild cats,
marsupials, owls, frogs and woodpeckers. Plants include the 40m high
Chilean redwood (Fitzroya
cupressoides) which can be 3000 - 4000 years old.

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